High School Sports, PICTURE FLIPPER, Russellville Golden Tigers, Sports
 By  Staff Reports Published 
2:48 pm Monday, September 17, 2012

RHS defeats East Limestone

Jonathan Willis/FCT Russellville quarterback Landon Smothers dodges defenders during a 43-yard gain that set up the last touchdown for the Golden Tigers Friday night against East Limestone.

By: Slade Gilmer

For the FCT

 

RUSSELLVILLE —  A year after Russellville fell to East Limestone 37-28, the Golden Tigers exacted revenge with a dominant 37-14 win over the Indians at Russellville Stadium on Friday, Sept. 14.

A week after being shut out and held to 128 yards by Muscle Shoals, the Golden Tigers cranked out 445 yards — with 363 on the ground — en route to the key Class 5A, Region 8 victory.

“This game was a big confidence boost for our guys,” said Russellville head coach Michael Jackson. “It was a big win to come out here and beat a good, hard-nosed East Limestone team, and I think our seniors showed excellent leadership throughout the week and tonight.”

After the two teams exchanged punts on their respective opening drives, the Golden Tiger offense cranked out 61 yards on 14 plays, with the last four being a Bud Coleman touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead.

On East Limestone’s next possession, two consecutive intentional grounding penalties pushed the ball back to the Indian four-yard line. On the next play, Russellville freshman Austin Kitterman rushed into the backfield and dragged down the Indian runningback in the end zone for a safety, pushing the lead to 9-0.

The Golden Tiger offense reached East Limestone territory on the next drive, but a fumble ended that drive. However, after a touchback and personal foul penalty on an Indian punt gave Russellville the ball at its own 35, Tyler Boyd outraced the Indian defense for a 65-yard touchdown run to give the Golden Tigers a 16-0 lead.

The East Limestone offense fought back, converting a fourth-and-four to move the ball to the Golden Tiger 26. A pass interference call moved the ball to the 13, where the Indians used four runs—the last a three-yard quarterback keeper by Matthew Franks–to score and cut the Russellville lead to 16-7.

A late fumble kept the Golden Tigers out of the end zone before halftime.

East Limestone drove to the Russellville 32 on the first drive of the second half, but the Golden Tiger defense held on downs. Despite three consecutive runs being called back for holding, the Golden Tigers found the end zone when Boyd spun off two Indian defenders and found his way into the end zone on a 15-yard carry to make the score 23-7

After forcing a three-and-out, the Russellville ground attack struck quickly, as Coleman ran for 60 yards and a touchdown to make the score 30-7.

After another three-and-out, Russellville drove for another touchdown, this one a one-yard run by C.J Posey. The touchdown was set up by a 43-yard run by quarterback Landon Smothers, who juked several Indians before being brought down at the one.

East Limestone scored with 12.4 seconds left in the game, the drive culminating on a one-yard touchdown run by Shaiquille Eichelberger to make the final score 37-14.

“At times tonight, we played really well,” said Jackson. “We did have some problems with penalties and turnovers, but we did an excellent job bouncing back.”

Boyd led the Golden Tigers with 165 yards rushing on 11 carries. Coleman added 70 on four carries, while Smothers had 62 on the ground while completing all six of his passes for 78 yards. Posey had 12 yards rushing on four carries, with two receptions for 53 yards and completing one for four yards.

The Golden Tigers (2-1, 1-1) will be in action on Thursday night against the West Point Warriors in another Class 5A, Region 8 game. The game will be televised by WABM-TV, Channel 68, out of Birmingham.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to play on television next week,” Jackson said. “We want to keep the momentum from this game going into next week.”

Also on Franklin County Times
$4M paving project nears completion
Main, News, Russellville, ...
Russ Corey For the FCT 
October 1, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The city is in the process of completing what is likely its largest ever street paving project. District 1 City Councilman David Palmer...
Barnes kicks off bid for Congress
Main, News
Russ Corey For the FCT 
October 1, 2025
SHEFFIELD — Colbert County Commissioner Tommy Barnes is ready to travel the Fourth Congressional District in hopes of convincing voters he’s the perso...
Cancer survivor Vaughn: Celebrate every day!
Main, News, Z - News Main
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 1, 2025
Elaine Vaughn’s breast cancer journey began 11 years ago. Her longtime OB-GYN had retired, so she had put off her yearly exam and mammogram for a coup...
Mansell rescinds retirement request
Main, News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 1, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Fire Chief Joe Mansell will remain at the helm of the Russellville Fire Department. Mansell, who has led the department since 2002, was...
Study links well-being of teachers with AI use
Columnists, Opinion
October 1, 2025
As a new school year begins, the attention of parents, policymakers, and the public rightly turns to students. But if we are serious about improving s...
Hubbard reflects as she retires from courthouse
News, Red Bay
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 1, 2025
RED BAY — Lifelong Red Bay resident Sherri Hubbard has spent the past 24 years serving Franklin County as a courthouse deputy. Before joining the cour...
Holt named the acting director of NACOLG
News
Russ Corey For the FCT 
October 1, 2025
MUSCLE SHOALS — Transportation Planning Director Joseph Holt has been named the acting director of the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments....

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *